Rui Hachimura has been one of the more intriguing stories for the Los Angeles Lakers on the court this season. He began the season spectacularly, proving himself to be a fantastic off-ball shooting option next to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. However, many wondered how he would play once LeBron James was back in head coach JJ Redick’s starting lineup.
James’ return correlated with a cold stretch for the veteran forward. And that cold stretch led right into an injury that held him out for nine games in an 11-game stretch. When he came back, it was clear he needed some time to get back to his former self. But his last three games — now off the bench instead of starting — have looked much more like the Hachimura from the start of the season.
He’s averaging 17.3 points per game in his last three, shooting 57.1% from the field and 52.6% from deep. Redick spoke about what he’s seen from Hachimura over the last few games, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Yeah I think our bench was awesome. All those guys impacted the game in some way. Rui and Jaxson in particular were really good tonight. And Rui now feels like — I know he had the 4-for-13 game recently — but it really feels like he’s kind of back in his groove. He had not taken a ton of shots, and I don’t think was playing well. I told him that, I’m not trying to call him out. But he wasn’t playing well leading into his injury, and it takes a little bit of time to get into that rhythm. But it feels like in the last few games, he’s back to who he was at the start of the year. And his defensive engagement particularly the last two games, he had a great defensive game in Dallas on tape as the low man, and another good one tonight.”
Redick was then asked if coming off the bench had anything to do with this recent success. He replied with a mixed answer about how defenses are playing him and how the Lakers are calling plays:
“Yes and no. There are certain games that based on pick and roll coverages, for instance, that if he’s just standing in the corner he doesn’t necessarily get it. And Chicago allows that pull-behind pass in the pick and roll, and he got some shots out of that. And in the last few games, we’ve been running a lot of stuff for him, whether that’s ATOs, we got a single-action for him on a sideline out of bounds, so he’s getting enough. You run an off-ball action, you don’t want a midrange shot, which he typically takes, but he’s so good at them that it’s a good play for us.”
The Lakers definitely went away from Hachimura for a bit once James came back, as is typically the case when a better player at a similar position returns to the lineup. However, it was clear that if the Lakers were going to be at their best, it required getting Hachimura involved on the offensive end.
It seems Redick has figured out a way for both James and Hachimura to be heavily involved on offense with Doncic orchestrating. Once Austin Reaves returns, though, it might be back to the drawing board.
Rui Hachimura willing to come off bench long-term
Hachimura has been a regular starter for the Lakers since his arrival in L.A. The Lakers tried bringing him off the bench in small spurts, but his talents were always best served with the starters, a system that Hachimura openly preferred. However, with the new roster makeup, his role as a starter makes less sense than it ever has.
And now, we are seeing a change in attitude from Hachimura, as well. He is now willing to come off the bench as a long-term solution, even as he gets more and more comfortable back on the court.
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